TV Review: Party Wright Round The World

Mark Wright’s Miami party had no life and soul.

A couple of weeks ago I received an email in response to my criticism of Aimee Fuller’s hysterics on the BBC during the Winter Olympics.

The angry reader jumped to Aimee’s defence, praising her as a brave Olympian and asked: “What have you ever done for this country?”

Apart from wishing to point out that my condemnation of Aimee was in her role as a commentator, not as a competitor, I didn’t have a suitable response. I didn’t think saying I’m on the mailing list of Bafta was going to placate him.

If I receive a similar email in future I can now puff out my chest and say that I once sat through an entire hour of Party Wright Around The World so that you, the great British public, will never have to.

The talents of The Only Way Is Essex’s Mark Wright don’t stretch much further than his world view (which begins and ends in Sugar Hut night club) so it was always a gamble for him to branch out beyond Brentwood to host his own show.

The idea was for him to throw parties for some deserving people around the world and first up he was sent to sample the gay scene of Little Havana in Miami which didn’t strike me as in need of a DJ from Essex to liven the place up!

After describing an area named after the capital of Cuba as “a bit Mexican” and “not very glamorous, so I’m a bit nervous” (it was hardly Ross Kemp’s Extreme World) the host further alienated himself by refusing to dress up in drag.

“I’m up for coming as Batman or someone from Star Wars but this is uncomfortable,” he said as the anxious viewer was asked to wait until after the break to see if he really would wear a dress that didn’t match his eyes.

He did, of course, otherwise this show would have been even more pointless than it already was, although a compromise of sorts was reached as his red wig and lipstick made him look like the Caped Crusader’s nemesis The Joker.

This programme wasn’t just bad, it was boring. And for sitting through the entire mess until the last dance I think I deserve a mention in the Queen’s birthday honours list.

Party Wright Around The World, ITV2, Wednesday.